How To Prepare For A Cyber Attack

 

Are you concerned about a cyber attack on your business? Well, you should be. According to Tech Jury, there are about 2234 reported attacks daily.

That’s a lot of potential damage to your business. But don’t worry, you can take steps to protect yourself. In this post, we’ll discuss how to prepare for a cyber attack.

What Is A Cyber Attack?

A cyber attack is any type of attack that uses a computer network to damage or disable a system. Cyber attacks can come in many forms, including viruses, malware, phishing scams, and denial of service attacks.

Viruses: A virus is a type of malware that can replicate itself and spread to other computers. Once a computer is infected with a virus, the virus can cause damage to files or programs and even make the computer unusable.

Malware: Malware is any type of software that is designed to damage or disable a system. Malware can come in many forms, including viruses, spyware, ransomware, and adware.

Phishing Scams: A phishing scam is a type of attack that uses fraudulent emails or websites to trick users into disclosing personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.

Denial of Service Attacks: A denial of service attack (DoS attack) is an attack that prevents legitimate users from accessing a system or service. DoS attacks can come in many forms, including flooding a system with requests or maliciously disrupting service.

How To Prepare For A Cyber Attack

 

There are a few things you can do to protect yourself from cyber criminals. Some of them include:

1. Know Your Enemy: In order to protect your business from a cyber attack, you need to know who your enemy is. Identify the type of attack you’re most vulnerable to and take steps to protect yourself.

For example, if you’re concerned about phishing scams, make sure you have a strong spam filter in place and that your employees are aware of how to spot a phishing email. If you’re worried about denial of service attacks, make sure you have a robust firewall in place.

2. Keep Your Cyber Security Software Up-To-Date: One of the best ways to protect your business from a cyber attack is to keep your software up-to-date. Software updates often include security patches that can help to protect your system from attacks.

Make sure you have automatic updates turned on for all of your software, including your operating system, web browser, and any plugins or extensions. By keeping your software up-to-date, you can help to protect your business from the latest threats.

3. Educate Your Employees: One of the most important things you can do to protect your business from a cyber attack is to educate your employees. Teach them about the different types of attacks and how to spot them. Make sure they know not to open suspicious emails or click on links from unknown sources. Encourage them to report any suspicious activity to you or your IT department.

4. Implement Security Measures: There are a number of security measures you can take to protect your business from a cyber attack. These measures include things like installing a firewall and making sure every mobile phone or device has strong password policies. Take the time to assess your risks and put security measures in place to protect your business. By taking these precautions, you can help to defend against a cyber attack.

5. Build A Comprehensive Backup Solution: In the event that your business is attacked, it’s important to have a comprehensive backup solution in place. This way, you can restore your data and get your business up and running again quickly.

There are a number of backup solutions available, so choose one that fits your needs. Make sure you test your backup regularly to ensure it’s working properly. Having a backup solution in place can minimize the damage caused by a cyber attack.

6. Have An Incident Response Plan: Even with all of the best preparation in the world, there’s always a chance that your business will be attacked. That’s why it’s important to have an incident response plan in place. This plan should outline how you’ll respond to an attack and who will be responsible for each task. Make sure all of your employees are aware of the incident response plan and know what to do in the event of an attack. By having a plan in place, you can help to minimize the damage caused by a cyber attack.

7. Minimize Changes and Test Thoroughly: One of the best ways to protect your business from a cyber attack is to minimize changes and test thoroughly. Any time you make a change to your system, there’s a risk that something could go wrong. That’s why it’s important to test changes thoroughly before implementing them.

If possible, schedule changes for a time when you can closely monitor your system. This way, if something does go wrong, you can quickly identify the problem and fix it.

8. Limit The Spread Of Fake News Within Your Organization: While it’s important to educate your employees about the dangers of cyber attacks, it’s also important to limit the spread of fake news within your organization. Hackers are often known for spreading fake news. This can cause conflicts online and make for a very divided society.

Make sure your employees know the difference between real news and fake news. Encourage them to only share articles from trusted sources. When you limit the spread of fake news, you can help to protect your business from a cyber attack.

What Kind Of Businesses Are More Prone To Cyber Attacks?

 

There are a few factors that can make a business more prone to cyber attacks, including:

Size: Small businesses are often seen as easy targets by attackers. This is because they typically have fewer resources and less robust security measures in place.

Industry: Certain industries are more likely to be targeted by cyber attacks than others. These industries include healthcare, finance, and government. This is because just a little bit of this data from these industries can be valuable to attackers who could use it for identity theft or fraud.

Location: Businesses located in certain countries are also more likely to be targeted by cyber attacks. This is because some countries have less stringent laws when it comes to cybersecurity.

Dependence on Technology: Businesses that rely heavily on technology and internet connectivity are also more likely to be targeted by attackers. This is because they often have more data and systems that could be exploited.

Poor Cybersecurity Measures: Finally, businesses with poor cybersecurity measures are more likely to be attacked. This is because they provide an easy target for attackers who can exploit their weak security to gain access to their systems.

Cyber Attack Statistics

 

Healthcare Cybersecurity Stats

1. The WannaCry ransomware attack cost the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom more than $100 million. (Datto)
2. In 2020, the healthcare sector lost an estimated $21 billion to ransomware assaults. (Comparitech)
3. From 2017 to 2020, more than 93 percent of healthcare organizations had a data breach. (Herjavec Group)
4. In 2021, there were 712 healthcare data breaches, increasing by 11 percent over the previous year. (HIPAA Journal)

Finance And Crypto Cybersecurity Stats

1. The total value of cryptocurrency ransoms increased almost 80,000 percent from 2013 to 2020. (World Economic Forum)
2. 449,855 financial services exposed files exist, 36,004 of which are open to anybody in the company. This is high when compared to other industries. (Varonis)
3. Stale files make up 70% of sensitive data in the financial services industry. (Varonis)
4. On average, a financial services employee has access to roughly 11 million files on the first day on the job. Employees of large businesses have access to 20 million documents. (Varonis)
5. It takes an average of 233 days for financial services firms to discover and contain a data breach (Varonis)
6. The average cost of a financial services data breach is $5.85 million. (IBM)
7. Financial breaches account for 10 percent of all attacks. (Verizon)
8. The financial services industry incurred the most cybercrime costs in 2018 at $18.3 million. (Accenture)
9. In 2017, Ramnit was a typical type of ransomware that affected financial systems, accounting for 53% of attacks. (Cisco)

Government Cybersecurity Stats

1. Manufacturing companies account for nearly a quarter of all ransomware assaults, followed by professional services with 17 percent and government organizations with 13 percent. (Security Intelligence)
2. Russian hackers were responsible for 55 percent of nation-state cyber warfare attacks. (Microsoft)
3. 79 percent of nation-state attackers target government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and think tanks. (Microsoft)

Enterprise Cybersecurity Stats

1. The most frequently targeted malicious email attacks in the United States are carried out against small businesses (one to 250 workers). (Symantec)
2. The most frequent categories of malicious apps are Lifestyle (15%) and Entertainment (7%). (Symantec)
3. In 2021, supply chain attacks increased by more than 100% compared to the previous year. (Symantec)

Need Managed Security Services To Protect You From Cyber Attacks?

Global Solutions offers a variety of security solutions to meet your needs. We can help you assess your security needs and choose the right service for your business. If you would like to learn more about our managed security services, please get in touch with us. We would be happy to discuss your specific needs and provide a proposal outlining our specialized security services.